The Long and Short of Practice Areas
Practice facilities come in all different shapes and sizes. Some
basic design and management considerations can make practice
ranges and short game areas safe, practical, and enjoyable.
by DARIN S. BEVARD
A
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THE PERFECT golf shot.
Nothing feels quite like it. Now
if I could only hit that perfect
golf shot again, on purpose. This is a
common refrain among many of us
who love and play the game of golf. In
fact, the perfect shot is what keeps us
coming back.
Most golfers realize that in order to
improve their games and lower their
handicaps, repetition of the golf swing
in the various aspects of the game is
extremely important. However, most
people don't have the 4 to 41/2 hours
needed to playa round of golf or even
2 hours to get in nine holes on a
regular basis. This means that golfers
must find time during lunch to hit a
few chips and putts or head to the
range before dinner to hit the allimportant bucket of balls in an effort
to hone their golf skills.
Golf has become a game of practice.
With more than 26 million people participating in the game of golf, practice
facilities will continue to be in demand
for the public course and private club
player. There are well over 16,000 golf
courses in the United States, and most
have some type of practice area. In
fact, the practice facility can be crucial
in attracting customers and prospective
members. By combining the number
of golf courses with player demand, it
is easy to see that practicing golf is big
business itself!
This begs the question: What makes
a good practice range and short-game
facility? The answer is somewhat subjective. Let's just say it would be difficult to list every factor that impacts
the quality of a good practice facility.
However, there are several major factors that likely define the overall
quality of a practice facility.
The best practice facilities incorporate a practice range that allows
players to work on their long game,
while including a putting green and
chipping area close by. Players need to
practice putting, chipping, and even
hitting bunker shots. There are certain
features of each type of practice area
A well-marked target area on the practice range is a benefit to the
golfers using the facility. This range uses a series of colored stakes
to indicate the corresponding distance off of the tee.
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With the game of golf more popular than ever, practice areas are becoming
a major feature of the golf course landscape (Alpine
New Jersey).
c.c.,
(practice range and short-game areas)
that add to golfers' enjoyment. This
article will focus on the factors that
influence the quality of practice facilities, starting with practice ranges and
moving on to practice putting greens
and short-game areas.
Practice Ranges
Several major factors should be
considered when evaluating the overall quality of a practice range. They
include the size of the tee and landing
area, tee surface (turf vs. artificial
mats), quality of range targets, location, and overall presentation. This
also includes distance markers and
teeing area definition.
Size Requirements
Perhaps the most important factor
in determining the overall quality of a
practice range is its size. The size of
the range tee has a direct impact on
the golf course superintendent's ability
to maintain high quality grass, as well
as the number of people who can use
the practice range at a given time. The
size of the landing area and its relation
to surrounding areas affects many
things, with safety being the most
important.
The size of a practice range is
usually dictated by available space.
Many older golf courses didn't consider the need for a practice range at
the time they were designed. When
they were built, golf was a different
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USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD
game. As such, these older courses
often only have small driving ranges, if
one exists at all. As older courses are
renovated and/or restored, one area
that is often reviewed is the potential
for expanding the existing practice
range, or building a new practice complex in a different area. Some older
golf courses have even purchased
adjacent parcels of land in order to
construct a modem practice range.
For new courses, however, the
emphasis currently placed on practice
dictates that such facilities should be
designed in the overall scheme of the
golf course.
So how big does a practice range,
including tees, need to be? This is a
difficult question to answer., Factors
such as the number of annual rounds
and public versus private membership
must be considered. Many ranges are
no larger than 5 or 6 acres, but they
still can provide a high quality practice
area. However, these small facilities
rely on natural barriers such as trees,
safety nets, golf club restrictions, and
golfer awareness to maintain safety.
Intense maintenance of the turfgrass is
also needed to provide quality conditions under heavy traffic.
Where space is available, a rather
nice range can be built on about 15
acres. This may sound like a lot of
land, but it only provides a range
approximately 320 yards in length and
150 yards in width, with room for
some two acres of teeing space. In fact,
some practice ranges are more than 20
acres in size when short -game areas
are included, although this is the
exception and not the rule. In discussions with architects, 15 acres plus or
minus a couple of acres seems to be a
good starting point.
It is hard to determine how large the
tee must be to provide adequate teeing
space for any given practice range
under all circumstances. Intensity of
traffic and maintenance will impact
the quality of the tee. However, a
larger teeing area that provides room
for more players to practice at any
given time is desirable. This is especially important during times of peak
activity. Additionally, the more room
available to distribute traffic, the better
chance the golf course superintendent
will have to maintain a quality stand
of grass on the tee. Within reason,
practice tees should be constructed as
large as available space and resources
permit. We never see practice tees that
are too large!
One very good way to maximize
teeing space is to construct tees at
both ends of the range. In many instances, the tee closest to the clubhouse is used for players to warm up
for their round of golf, while the tee at
the far end of the range is used for
hardcore practice and lessons. It is
important to have adequate space
between the two tees to prevent balls
hit at one end of the range from hitting
players on the other end of the range.
Grass Selection
When planning a practice range,
anticipated tee size will have a major
impact on grass selection for the practice tees. Other factors also affect the
turfgrass species that is selected for
a practice tee. In many instances,
attempts are made to match fairway
turf type with the base turf on the
practice tee, but this is not always the
best approach. Rather, the turfgrass
species that performs the best and
recovers the quickest under the
climatic conditions of a given region
should be selected as the base turf.
Otherwise, maintaining high quality
turf can be next to impossible. Generally, in the South, bermudagrass is
the grass of choice for practice tees,
while creeping bentgrass or perennial
ryegrass performs well in northern
climates. Of course, in spite of the best
available agronomic information, turf
selection may come down to the
desires of the powers-that-be to have a
certain turfgrass species in place, even
though its management may be more
difficult.
pop-up mist heads being installed.
These smaller heads allow the tees to
be watered when golfers are present,
with less chance of splashing anyone
with water. A good irrigation system is
crucial for germinating seed and maintaining quality turf.
All-Weather Tees
In spite of having the best available
turf and adequate teeing space, it is
becoming increasingly necessary to
install artificial teeing surfaces in
order to allow ranges to remain open
under adverse weather conditions.
All-weather tees provide the oppor-
with bunkers, actual fairway conditions are imitated, and the feeling of
playing a regular golf hole are presented to the player. All of these features offer the chance for a spectacular
appearance for a practice range. But
are they really necessary? Probably
not. A less expensive, less elaborate
approach can be taken. So what is
necessary?
First, landing areas should be contoured so players can see their balls
land for all clubs that will be used.
This is a very important consideration;
the only way that distance and ball
flight can be accurately gauged is to
Maintenance
Practice tees must be intensively
maintained if top quality surface conditions are the goal. Frequent rotation
of the tee markers reduces concentrated wear injury from occurring.
Regular aeration, topdressing, overseeding of divots, and generous fertilization are crucial. As soon as an area
is taken out of use due to wear on a
cool-season tee, it should be heavily
overseeded and topdressed to keep
the surface level and encourage turf
recovery. For warm-season grasses the
decision to overseed will depend on
the time of year. However, topdressing
remains important. Maintaining high
levels of fertility on both warm- and
cool-season grasses is necessary to
promote turf recovery. An application
of as much as 1 lb. of actual nitrogen
per 1,000 sq. ft. per month from a
combination of readily available and
slow-release nitrogen sources is not
excessive. A regimented maintenance
schedule should be adhered to. Regular maintenance also should include
frequent mowing and rotation of the
hitting area to provide good turf conditions while preventing excessive
wear in anyone place.
Reliable irrigation is also an important part of practice tee maintenance.
While standard overhead sprinklers
can work well, we see more and more
Where available space for the practice range is limited, install netting to provide a
bq,rri;f(J' to, ~he rest of the _~olfcourse and promote player safety.
tunity for the turf to recover from wear
while also allowing the practice range
to be used when the grass tees are too
wet, during the winter months when
turf is dormant, during outings, or
when time is needed for renovations.
It is very important to carefully
scrutinize the choices when selecting
an artificial surface. Many clubs have
installed artificial tees only to remove
them because of player dissatisfaction
or maintenance problems. Often, a
variety of artificial teeing surfaces can
be found at local clubs. Questions regarding maintenance of artificial tees
(yes, some artificial tees require varying amounts of maintenance to be
their best) should be asked. Artificial
tees often represent a large capital
investment. Many different surfaces
can and should be tested prior to
making a commitment.
Landing Areas
Many different design options exist
for practice range landing areas. Some
players desire to have a fancy landing
area where target greens are accented
see the ball land. Accurate and visible
markers in the landing area need to be
correlated with specific spots on the
practice tee to provide yardage.
Finally, target greens provide a nice
touch to the landing area. They set off
the target for the player and make
practice seem more realistic. Something as simple as a pushed-up mound
of soil with good turf cover and a flagstick can be used, up to a more
elaborate setup such as the one mentioned above, with bunkers and oncourse conditions. The bottom line is
that the player needs to be able to see
where the ball goes and accurately
determine how far the ball traveled to
maximize the benefits of practice.
Maintenance
The degree of maintenance for practice range landing areas varies widely.
Oftentimes, resources are better used
on the actual golf course, not the
practice range. However, the landing
area should be mowed at least tWice
weekly. An irrigation system improves
the appearance of the range and is
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Sand accumulation from repeated bunker practice can make maintenance difficult
around the bunker and on the adjacent green. If a separate green is not provided for
bunker practice, the sand accumulation can negatively impact putting green conditions.
The appearance of the area can also be an eyesore, especially if it is close to the
clubhouse area.
becoming a standard feature across
the country. Obviously, more elaborate
landing areas require more intensive
maintenance practices.
Short-Game Areas and
Practice Putting Greens
For short -game practice, two distinct components of the game are
involved. Putting and pitch/chip shots,
including bunker play, make up the
majority of short-game
practice.
Ideally, a separate area should exist for
each type of practice. Using the same
practice green for putting and shortgame practice, beyond very short
greenside pitch shots, can lead to
safety and turf maintenance problems.
Again, the all-important issue of size is
a major factor in the quality that can
be achieved for short -game practice
areas. Working with a golf course
architect who is experienced in the
design of short-game areas is a wise
investment.
For practice putting greens, larger
size allows more room to spread traffic
and distribute hole locations to prevent turf thinning and wear pattern
development. For chipping and pitching areas, adequate size is needed to
allow multiple players to practice with
minimal concern about safety. When
players are close together, there is a
greater chance that someone is going
to get hit with a bladed or shanked
chip or pitch shot. After all, the penchant for hitting poor shots is why
the practice area is being used in the
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USGA GREEN SECI'ION RECORD
first place! Errant shots should be
expected.
Practice Putting Green
The amount of space needed to
maintain a high quality practice green
varies, depending upon traffic levels,
growing environment, and management strategies. For example, a small
green with heavy traffic, located in an
area of poor air movement and shade,
and maintained under low fertility will
most certainly fail. However, that
same green located in an open area
with full sunlight and adequate fertility
may perform well. Putting greens are
often located in the shadow of the
clubhouse or among trees. In these
situations, a larger green is needed to
provide a better opportunity for successful management. Larger size can
compensate for a poor location.
Even under low traffic stress, a
minimum of 10,000 sq. ft. should be
provided to allow the grass to heal
between hole rotations in and out of
an area. Under high traffic conditions,
the practice green should be constructed as large as available space
and resources allow to ensure top
quality conditions. Practice bunkers
should not be located adjacent to the
main practice putting green. This can
lead to maintenance problems from
repeated blasting of sand onto the
putting green. Greenside bunker practice should be included in the chipping/pitching practice area, rather
than at the putting green.
When planning a practice green, it
is best to limit severe contours, especially if use will be heavy. Steep contours eliminate usable areas that are
needed for hole locations and distribution of wear. The grassing scheme
should be similar to that of the other
greens on the golf course, if possible.
This helps to promote consistency for
the player.
Maintenance
Normally, maintenance of practice
putting greens should be similar to
that of the greens on the golf course.
Many golfers consider artificial teeing areas sacrilegious, but a properly installed allweather surface can provide a rest for the natural grass tee. The use of improperly
installed or poorly performing artificial tees may be short-lived if players become
dissatisfied.
This helps to ensure consistency between the practice green and the
regular greens. Regular aeration and
topdressing are very important to
maintain good turf quality. However, it
may be necessary to increase fertility
on practice greens above the level
used on the regular golf course greens.
The levels of traffic that practice
greens receive dictate that more fertilizer may be necessary to promote
recovery from wear. Hole locations on
practice greens should be moved frequently to prevent wear areas from
developing. Frequency of rotation will
depend upon the amount of traffic
received from day to day. However,
the holes should be changed at least
frequently enough so that a clean hole
with proper dimensions is maintained
for practice. For heavily used greens,
the use of target stakes, rather than
actual holes, is becoming more common. These target stakes can be
moved very easily, making frequent
rotation more practical.
Short-Game Area
Designing and building a shortgame area can be tricky. While practicing, players will be in close proximity to one another, and often close
to other areas of the golf course. Safety
efforts must be ensured in these areas.
Again, the best safety feature is adequate space and a thoughtful design.
Short-game areas vary from a small
fairway approach with a target green,
to more elaborate fairway areas of up
to 100 yards in length. Ideally, fairway
approach areas will be available from
several different directions to provide
room for a number of players to practice at one time. What's right for a
given facility will depend on available
space as well as available capital for
construction and maintenance. Usually,
the green associated with a shortgame area is maintained similarly to
the practice putting green. However,
maintenance does not need to be as
intense for surface conditions. This
green should be used primarily for
chip and pitch shots from longer distances, not for practice putting. Nonetheless, this green should be well constructed and properly maintained.
In addition to a fairway approach
area, bunkers should be installed to
provide an area for short- to mediumrange bunker practice.
Integrating the Practice Area
with the Golf Course
The overall integration of the entire
practice complex with the rest of the
golf course is very important. The
starter will have an easier time of
rounding up players if the practice
areas are close to the golf course.
Ideally, the practice tee and the practice putting green should be as close as
possible to the first tee, but not in such
a place that they cause a distraction to
players teeing off. Having a clock at
the practice complex is also a nice
touch. This way, players can conveniently practice as their scheduled starting time approaches. Everyone likes to
get in that last bit of practice prior to
teeing up.
The short-game practice area frequently is isolated from other areas for
safety reasons. A bladed sand wedge
or thin pitch shot could pose a safety
threat if any people are nearby. Safety
should always be a consideration
when designing practice areas.
For all areas of a practice facility, it
is important to define what can and
can't be done in the interest of safety.
For example, if the range is only 75
yards wide and 200 yards long and
runs parallel to a fairway or public
road, it probably would be best to limit
club selection to irons. This will reduce the chance for injuries.
It is difficult to cover all aspects
of practice facility development and
management that will be encountered
in all situations, but the major issues
are fairly consistent from golf course
to golf course. Although the number of
actual golfers has not grown significantly in the last 10 years, the desire to
practice has grown. Golfers practice
frequently in order to maintain and
improve their overall skills. Keeping in
mind the need for adequate size and
safety should lead to a high quality
practice facility that is properly integrated with the rest of the golf course,
providing an excellent opportunity for
practice.
DARIN S. BEVARD has been an agronomist in the Mid-Atlantic
Region for four
years, visiting courses in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and West
Virginia.
A large practice tee provides ample space for many players to practice
at once prior to teeing off at the 1999 USGA Girls' Junior Amateur.
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